Afterwards the lowest stripe was taken off and the new flag (Pl. [II.] , fig. 4) adopted, in which there are eight stripes, the bottom stripe being red and the British Union Jack placed in the upper corner.
The Sandwich Islands, made known to the world mainly by the tragic death of Captain Cook, in 1778, and now known as the Hawaiian Islands, had been fused into a single monarchy by the impetuous valour of King Kamehama, who, in 1794, admitted Christian missionaries to his kingdom. Its existence as an independent monarchy was thereafter maintained and was recognized by the great powers.
Internal difficulties having arisen in the kingdom and an insult been given to a British consul, the islands were ceded and the sovereignty offered to Great Britain in 1843, when, on 12th February, the Union Jack was raised on all the islands, the understanding being that the natives were to be under the protection of the flag of Great Britain, and internal order to be guaranteed pending the final disposition which might be arrived at in England between the representatives of the Hawaiians and the British Government.[10]
5. The Hawaiian Ensign.
The British did not accept the proffered transfer of the islands, but returned the sovereignty to the native government, which was thereafter to continue as an independent monarchy under the protection of Great Britain; and by an accompanying treaty all British manufactures and produce were to be admitted duty free. On July 31st, 1843, the British flag was lowered and the new Hawaiian ensign raised in its place.[11] It was in recognition of this event that the Union Jack was placed in the Hawaiian ensign.
In the same year France and England agreed never to take possession of the islands either by protectorate or in any other form.
The natives steadily decreased in number and in power, and the trade and commerce of the islands had passed almost entirely into American hands.
Dissensions had afterwards arisen under the subsequent native sovereigns, and in 1893 the Queen, Liliuokalani, was deposed by a revolution, and a republican government formed under President Dole, an American citizen.